The instant disclosure relates to coupling devices. In particular, the instant disclosure relates to devices for coupling sections of flexible ducting to each other.
Flexible ducting can be used to supply cool air to parked aircraft. For example, lengths of flexible ducting are often used to supply cool air to the avionics compartment such that the sensitive equipment therein does not overheat. It is known to use coupling devices to interconnect lengths of flexible ducting running from the air conditioning unit to the aircraft.
As avionics technology advances, however, the amount of electronics in an aircraft, and thus the heat output, increases. In addition, these electronics are often installed in smaller and smaller spaces. As a result, there is a need to deliver increased cooling on modern aircraft.
Increased cooling capacity can be provided by delivering the conditioned air at a higher pressure, at a higher flow rate, or at both a higher pressure and a higher flow rate. Although the ducting itself can often sustain these higher pressures and/or flow rates, extant couplings often cannot. In particular, the seals (e.g., o-rings and/or gaskets) of extant couplings can fail under these higher pressures and/or flow rates.
Current solutions to such problems include the use of duct tape around the seals, zip ties around the seals, or the use of customized seals (e.g., solid o-rings instead of standard hollow o-rings). Each of these solutions has shortcomings. For example, both duct tape and zip ties eventually fail under the higher pressures and/or flow rates, with broken zip ties posing the additional hazard of foreign object damage to the aircraft. Similarly, the use of solid o-rings requires the use of vice grips or other tools in order to couple the ducting sections together. Yet, tools are often prohibited on flight lines.